First Post: My Decks

For my first post on this site, I will list the Tarot decks I’ll be using as a basis for every post which follows, updated with new decks when I get them. I suppose I should clarify something now: this is a personal blog about the study and use of the Tarot. I am a man of many interests, but I intend on dedicating this page solely to the aforementioned subject.

For the most part, I write up my thoughts on a deck as I obtain it. If you read all of these posts, you might notice in some of the earlier ones that I state an aversion to amassing a large collection. I no longer feel this way, but have made no effort to remove my earlier opinion from these posts.

Any photographs in any of my posts are taken by me of the decks in my collection. I’m no photographer, so I apologize now for the poor quality of some of the pictures.

Radiant Rider-Waite Tarot.Published by U.S. Games. This is the first deck I’ve ever owned. It is a variant of the deck created by A.E. Waite and artist P.C. Smith in 1910, originally published by the Rider company. I will henceforth abbreviate this deck as RWS, for Rider-Waite-Smith.

Universal Waite Tarot. Published by U.S. Games. Another variant of the original RWS, with finer linework and new colors.

Miniature Rider Tarot. Published by U.S. Games. This deck is a miniature version of the RWS, using the original artwork. It will be abbreviated as rws.

Aquarian Tarot. Published by U.S. Games. Art by David Palladini in 1970. An Art-Deco styled, RWS-pattern Tarot. Abbreviated AT.

Universal Tarot of Marseille. Published by Lo Scarebo. The creator of this type of deck is unknown. It is named for the French city which produced them. This specific deck is based on the version created by Claude Burdel in 1751. It will be abbreviated TdM, for Tarot de Marseille.

CBD Tarot de Marseille. Published independently by Yoav Ben-Dov (the “BD” in “CBD”) in 2010, this is a TdM based on the version created by Nicholas Conver (the “C” in “CBD”) in 1760.

Thoth Tarot.Published by U.S. Games. This deck was created by the infamous Aleister Crowley, with help of artist Freida Harris, between 1938 and 1943. It was first published in 1969. I will abbreviate this deck as CHT, for Crowley-Harris-Thoth.

Thoth Tarot (Pocket Edition). Exactly the same thing as above, except the cards are much smaller. On the plus side, the small size makes this deck much easier to use for readings compared to the original, which is by far the largest deck I have. On the minus side, the intricacies of the artwork suffer ever so slightly with the reduction in size. Abbreviated cht.

Wildwood Tarot. Published by Sterling Ethos. This deck was created by Mark Ryan and John Matthews with the help of artist Will Worthington in 2011. Its structure is loosely based on tradition, but is also designed to accommodate the Wheel of the Year system. This deck will be abbreviated as WWT.

The Book of Thoth Etteilla Tarot.Published by Lo Scarebo. This type of deck was created by J.F. Alliette (pseudonym “Etteilla”). This specific deck is a reproduction of the deck referred to as “Grande Etteilla III”, which is itself based on a version created by a student of Etteilla named D’Odoucet in 1804. It will be abbreviated as GE, for Grande Etteilla.

Sun and Moon Tarot. Published by U.S. Games, 2010. Created by Vanessa Decort. This deck blends the symbolism of the RWS and CHT with a modern twist. It will be abbreviated SaM for Sun and Moon.

Deviant Moon Tarot. Published by U.S. Games. Created by Patrick Valenza in 2008. An original Tarot deck with a dark and humorous edge. Abbreviated DMT.

Medieval Scapini Tarot. Published by U.S. Games. Designed by artist Luigi Scapini, who helped U.S. Games design their reproduction of the historic Sforza-Visconti deck. Drawing inspiration from that experience, Scapini designed this, his own deck, in 1985. Aesthetically, this deck appears medieval in style, but close study will reveal influences from many historic Tarot traditions, including Wirth, Etteilla, and the Golden Dawn, among others. The pips are illustrated despite its mimicry of historicity. Abbreviated as MST.

Dame Fortune’s Wheel Tarot. Published by Lo Scarebo. Created by Paul Huson in 2007, drawing from his research on Tarot history in his book Mystical Origins of the Tarot (2004). The Major Arcana makes use of medieval symbolism that would have adorned the first Tarots, while the illustrated Minor Arcana draws influence from many sources, most notably Etteilla. Abbreviated as DFW.

Mary-El Tarot. Published by Schiffer Publishing, Ltd, in 2012. Created by Mary White. Very beautiful and very nontraditional cards that draw inspiration from an eclectic blend of influences. Good for serious reflection.

Tarot Trumps by Oswald Wirth. I’m not sure what the publication information for these cards would be. They were cut from the back of Wirth’s book, called Tarot of the Magicians, published by Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC., 2012 (First published in French in 1927 as Le Tarot, des Imagiers du Moyen Age). While the book is from 1927, the cards themselves were designed in 1889. Inspired by the TdM-pattern trumps, these cards have been re-worked to accommodate Wirth’s occult theories. There were no Minor Arcana created to accompany the trumps. Abbreviated OWT for Oswald Wirth Trumps.

In addition to these decks, I also have a set of Conver TdM trumps courtesy of Teeny Tiny Tarot for purchasing one of the above decks from them (a pleasant surprise). These are printed on nice business size cards, and sport miniature images of the woodblock prints.

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All of the abbreviations listed above are used throughout this site for the sake of convenience on my part.

So there you have it. These are the decks to which I will be referring in my future posts. I believe they constitute the basis of a well-rounded collection of the essential incarnations of that Book of Wisdom, the Tarot.